Desktop automation: first step on the path to greater efficiency

Firms looking to do more with less should start by automating desktop management

If there is one word that sums up the government’s approach to delivering services to British taxpayers, it’s probably “efficiency”. Whether in terms of staffing, cost management or speed of service – all roads lead to departments reaching new levels of lean operations, providing the best services possible with limited resources.

For those charged with delivering effective IT, efficiency means ensuring systems are available, that staff are productive and that external customers are fully satisfied with the services they receive. But IT efficiency is not just crucial in the public sector.

For many organisations, whether in the public or private sectors, the next 24 months will see massive changes in IT; Windows 7 adoption will continue to rise and many networks will see large-scale hardware and software refreshes. This will put huge strains on IT teams across the country – potentially diverting them away from other pressing requirements.

However, this challenge brings opportunities to the channel as partners are increasingly being leaned on as trusted business advisers.

So the question is raised as to how firms can achieve this efficiency in the face of added complexity, and how can partners and resellers solve this dilemma for their customers?

One often neglected but critical element of efficient IT is desktop management. When managed manually, it can become the antithesis of efficiency, not to mention the scope for human error. However, when automated, it brings the ability to create, deploy and manage entire desktop systems from a central console. This can provide huge savings, while ensuring systems are available when they are needed most and that critical IT issues do not get in the way of computer users maintaining maximum productivity.

The resources freed enable managers to plan more accurately for migrations and rollouts, better understand the current status of the network and employ a structured, centralised mechanism for deploying new machines, operating systems and applications.

Previously complex and troublesome tasks such as checking that installs do not create conflicts are done automatically – saving time for IT and reducing the likelihood of failed deployments. In short, automating desktop management can be a major step towards achieving more efficient IT.

Matt Fisher is director at FrontRange Solutions